Taking a Brief Detour

Since this is the last week of my Who What Wear Style Challenge outfits, I decided to throw in (out of order, but bear with me) an outfit from the next style challenge, this one courtesy of Mo Mo Mod from February 2014.

It would have been neater to finish the WWWSC, then start this one, but the weather forecast was better suited to doing it this way--with rain in the forecast and a meeting to attend, a simple outfit with tall boots seemed wise.  Of course, given our recent meteorological track record, this means that I was probably planning for events that did not occur at all like we thought even a day or two out...and that was true--we didn't have any rain, but there was more slush on the parking lot from a bit of overnight snow.  Regardless, I'm mixing things up with a preview of the MMMSC today, then for the rest of the week, I'll be finishing up the WWWSC, returning to this MMMSC one next week.

Here's a nice representation of the style challenges you will be seeing, in some random order, for the next month starting next week.  I can already tell you that #1, #2, #8, #22, and #27 will not be a part of my challenge.  (FYI, OOTD just means "outfit of the day.")

MMMSC Day 7: Animal print--Wednesday, 3/25/15

Ah yes, one of my favorites.  The challenge is narrowing down all the possibilities to a single animal print item.  I see outfits where people wear multiple animal print things, and I don't know--it usually looks just fine but it feels like too much for my style.  If I want to go with a patterned-up look, I'd rather wear one animal print and one other print than two leopard print in most cases.

So I decided to go subtle, like Peg Bundy, with a form-fitting animal print body suit edged in faux fur.  It doesn't get classier than this.
 

Then I realized, Damn, I don't have such a garment!  On to plan B....where B stands for brown.

I liked the simplicity of this brown and white outfit that lets the leopard scarf stand out.  Easy enough to do a version of this.

Originally from wishlist123.polyvore.com

Although I liked the use of cognac and brown, brought together nicely in the two-tone bag, I decided to go with a more monochrome look of dark brown (though I did leave the white shirt in there for the scarf to stand out a bit better against).  I think this skirt is a bit on the short side for my wearing-to-work comfort level, but it's just fine with the tights.  I am quite grateful for how tights (at least the sedate dark colors that I wear) can turn an iffy dress or skirt solidly back into the business casual range.

Brown skirt (thrifted, Target)
White T (Walmart)
Brown leopard scarf (Kohls)
Brown cardigan (Kohls)
Brown sweater tights (Target)
Tall brown boots by Fitzwell

And monochromatic needn't be boring when you're bringing a lot of interesting textures into the mix.

Verdict:  Though a subdued animal print look even by my standards (let alone Peg Bundy's), I enjoyed this outfit a lot.  My recent style challenges have awoken a new appreciation in me for texturally interesting, mostly monochromatic looks.  My usual practice is stripes + animal print + florals + brights +++++, but it's nice to change things up with a more understated yet still interesting combination.